Roosters veteran emerges as Origin bolter amid NSW’s Cleary crisis

The NSW Blues have a Nathan Cleary crisis on their hands and an unlikely candidate has emerged as an option to replace him in Origin.

Could Luke Keary fill in for Nathan Cleary in State of Origin?

They look great on paper and they looked great at Allianz Stadium on Sunday afternoon when the star-studded Roosters backline sounded a warning to the NRL competition: if we are fit and firing, we are very hard to keep out.

After blitzing the New Zealand Warriors, the Roosters have now scored 138 points in their last three games.

They were just two points short of scoring 40 points for the third game in a row. It would have been the first time since Dave Brown was running around in 1935.

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On a surface that held up mightily after torrential overnight rain and two games of rugby, James Tedesco scored a try and had the pistons pumping, Dom Young scored a double and ran long metres at speed, and Joey Manu’s footwork and hands bedazzled the Warriors’ left edge.

And on the other side, Origin aspirant Angus Crichton terrorised the injured Shaun Johnson and scored a double.

The Roosters had plenty to smile about after another high scoring win. Picture: NRL Photos/Gregg Porteous

Keary the six?

With 23 days until Origin one and Nathan Cleary out for the series, 32-year-old Luke Keary made his own statement to NSW selectors: I’m old but I’m good.

While the No. 7 jumper would appear to be Nicho Hynes’ to lose, the Sharks five-eighth, like another Origin hopeful, Mitchell Moses, remains under an injury cloud.

Keary was a composed presence in the halves and a fine complement to the excellent Sam Walker. Keary finished with two try assists, a charge down and a shot on Warriors fullback Charnze Nicol-Klokstad.

Keary, who made his one and only Origin appearance in 2019, has announced he will be retiring at season’s end.

The Blues have a halfback problem. (Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)

Could Luke Keary be the answer? Photo: NRL Photos / Brett Costello

Roosters fire

Manu made the first try with footwork and a one-handed flick for Young. A pair of charges from the tearaway 21-year-old Englishman gifted his team field position before Crichton carried two Warriors over the line.

After Young profited neat work after a scrum by Manu and Walker, and Crichton fell on a Walker grubber, it was 22-0 after 15 minutes, a score the Roosters took to half-time.

Try of the match came early in the second half when Walker intercepted a pass on his own line, fed Young who bolted 60 metres only to be brought down by a covering tackle by Dallin Watene-Zelezniak who’d come flying across from the opposite wing.

Walker took the ball at dummy-half and immediately sent a long punt kick to the left wing for Daniel Manu to score.

It was a dirty day for the Wahs. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

Shaun Johnson injury

A chicken-wing style tackle by Keary on Johnson will attract scrutiny by the match review committee on Monday. Johnson was in pain following the tackle though he was troubled by a left shoulder injury throughout the match.

Johnson butchered a try when he grubbered with a two-man overlap and had a try disallowed for obstruction. He did setup Edward Kosi’s try with a lovely floating pass but the number seven’s arm hung noticeably from his shoulder for most of the 80 minutes.

An apparent trip by Crichton on Watene-Zelezniak was not put on report by referee Kasey Badger. A high shot by Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii on Watene-Zelezniak was.